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Academic/University
CONSUMER PRODUCTS & SERVICES | Education & Training (non-internet/mobile) / Colleges & Universities
ucl.ac.uk

Investments

6

Funds

2

Partners & Customers

10

About University College London

University College London (UCL) is a research university. It provides courses such as arts and humanities, brain sciences, life sciences, laws, and many more. The university was founded in 1826 and is based in London, U.K.

Headquarters Location

Gower Street

London, England, WC1E 6BT,

United Kingdom

+44 (0) 20 7679 2000

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Latest University College London News

70 Gigatonnes – Steel Plant Upgrades Could Save Equivalent of Two Years of Global Carbon Emissions

Sep 20, 2023

By University College LondonSeptember 20, 2023 A University College London study suggests that retrofitting iron and steel processing plants could reduce carbon emissions by up to 70 gigatonnes by 2050. The study underscores the significance of timely upgrades, indicating that advancing emission reduction retrofits by five years could enhance the reduction potential. Upgrading, or retrofitting, the world’s iron and steel processing plants early could reduce carbon emissions by up to 70 gigatonnes by 2050, which is roughly equivalent to two years’ worth of net global carbon emissions. Published today (September 20) in the journal Nature, a study led by University College London (UCL) researchers discovered that by upgrading the world’s iron and steel production facilities, carbon emissions can be reduced by 58.7 gigatonnes between 2020 and 2050. This is roughly equivalent to two years’ worth of net global carbon emissions. In addition, they found that bumping forward emissions reduction retrofits five years ahead of when they would be typically scheduled would reduce emissions by 69.6 gigatonnes over that time frame. Iron and steel production contributes about 7% to total global carbon emissions. The Research Approach To develop this schedule, the research team created a comprehensive database of 19,678 individual processing units located in 4,883 individual iron and steel plants around the world, inventoried by their technical characteristics, including their locations, processing technologies, operating details, status, and age. Iron and steel production is a carbon emissions-heavy process. The scientists discovered that as of 2019, the last year that data is available, 74.5% of the world’s steel was produced in coal-powered plants that release considerable carbon emissions. Technologies exist to reduce these admissions, but upgrades are expensive and time-consuming and so are usually only undertaken at the end of a processing unit’s operational lifetime. Refining and Retrofitting Insights Refining is also hard on the equipment, and the individual processing units within each plant need to be retrofitted periodically to prolong their operational lifetimes. Overall, 43.2% of global iron and steel plants have been retrofitted with new technologies or have otherwise enhanced their processes to extend their operating lifetime. The frequency of their retrofits depends on the technique they employ and how old they are, but typically they occur after 15 to 27 years of use. The team found that if all currently operating processing units were upgraded to incorporate low-emissions technology at their predicted time of their refit, total emissions from the iron and steel sector could be reduced by 58.7 gigatonnes between 2020 and 2050, but if all the refits and upgrades were bumped forward and completed five years early, the total carbon savings would be 16% greater at 69.6 gigatonnes. Industry-Wide Efforts According to the researchers, mitigation efforts will have to take place at the individual facility level, and the decarbonization of the entire iron and steel industry depends on the efforts undertaken by every single plant. Because of the complexity and variety of methods involved in steel production around the world, there’s no one-size-fits-all decarbonization technology or solution for the entire sector, and each processing unit should be upgraded individually according to its technical specifications. Senior author Professor Dabo Guan (UCL Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction) said: “Our results lend vivid background to the possibility of achieving net-zero carbon emissions in iron and steel production in the future. By retrofitting existing plants with low-carbon technologies, and improving scrap collecting and recycling, the iron and steel sector can dramatically reduce its carbon emissions. This study sheds light on the specific emissions reductions that are possible within the iron and steel industry.” Technological Distribution and Recommendations About 63% of the world’s steel production is from some type of blast oxygen furnace, while most of the remaining capacity is produced by electric arc furnaces. Upgrading the global inventory of blast oxygen furnaces will yield the greatest net carbon savings, about 74% of the total projected carbon savings. Upgrades to electric arc furnaces would account for the second highest net carbon savings, at about 16% of the projected whole, though this may be limited by the total amount of stock scrap available worldwide as the technique is dependent on recycling existing metals. The researchers hope that this data can be used to identify improved ways to update aging steel plants with emission-reduction technologies in order to reach net-zero carbon emissions more quickly. Compiling this publicly available global database of iron and steel plants and tracking all their ages and technologies has significantly improved the detail of data around the carbon emission of global iron and steel production. Guidance for Policymakers The researchers emphasize that because of the wide range of production methods and plant designs, the particulars of individual upgrades and mitigation efforts of each processing unit will have to be done on an individual basis. Their research will help policymakers create a roadmap of when and how to upgrade iron and steel plants to meet emissions reduction targets. The first author PhD student Tianyang Lei of Tsinghua University said: “Our study presents various CO2 emissions mitigation pathways at the plant level, optimizing when and how to retrofit each plant based on processing routes, latest retrofitting year, and operating lifetime, stressing the importance of early retrofitting with deep decarbonisation technologies for achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.” Geographical Disparities and Key Emitters The database reveals other insights into the iron and steel industry. Geographically different regions tend to use different technologies and techniques based on the available technologies and raw materials in the region. Some of the most carbon-intensive, coal-based production plants are concentrated in China, Japan, and India, while plants in the Middle East and North America which have greater access to natural gas resources use techniques that emit relatively less carbon dioxide. The top five carbon-emitting iron and steel plants contribute 7% of the total CO2 emissions from the global iron and steel industry but only make up 0.1% of the total 4,883 plants. They are: Anshan Iron & Steel (China), Posco – Pohang Iron & Steel (South Korea), Shanghai Baosteel (China), Jiangsu Shagang (China), Maanshan Iron & Steel Group (China). The researchers say that retrofitting these plants to lower their carbon emissions would demonstrate the feasibility for other, similar plants. Reference: “Global iron and steel plant CO2 emissions and carbon neutrality pathways” by Tianyang Lei, Daoping Wang, Shijun Ma, Weichen Zhao, Can Cui, Jing Meng, Xiang Yu, Qiang Zhang, Shu Tao and Dabo Guan, 20 September 2023, Nature.

University College London Investments

6 Investments

University College London has made 6 investments. Their latest investment was in BoxxDocks as part of their Pre-Seed on July 7, 2023.

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University College London Investments Activity

investments chart

Date

Round

Company

Amount

New?

Co-Investors

Sources

7/10/2023

Pre-Seed

BoxxDocks

$0.32M

Yes

1

12/5/2016

Unattributed

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10

9/10/2013

Seed VC

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$99M

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10

2/14/2013

Series B

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$99M

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10

3/24/2003

Private Equity

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$99M

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10

Date

7/10/2023

12/5/2016

9/10/2013

2/14/2013

3/24/2003

Round

Pre-Seed

Unattributed

Seed VC

Series B

Private Equity

Company

BoxxDocks

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Amount

$0.32M

$99M

$99M

$99M

New?

Yes

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Co-Investors

Sources

1

10

10

10

10

University College London Fund History

2 Fund Histories

University College London has 2 funds, including UCL Technology Fund II.

Closing Date

Fund

Fund Type

Status

Amount

Sources

8/3/2020

UCL Technology Fund II

1

1/18/2016

UCL Technology Fund

$99M

10

Closing Date

8/3/2020

1/18/2016

Fund

UCL Technology Fund II

UCL Technology Fund

Fund Type

Status

Amount

$99M

Sources

1

10

University College London Partners & Customers

10 Partners and customers

University College London has 10 strategic partners and customers. University College London recently partnered with AECOM on June 6, 2023.

Date

Type

Business Partner

Country

News Snippet

Sources

6/26/2023

Partner

United States

AECOM and UCL sign partnership to transform the science in major programme management

`` The partnership between AECOM and University College London promises to transform sectors and communities through advancing the science of infrastructure projects , '' said Professor Christoph Linder , Dean , The Bartlett of the Built Environment .

2

5/26/2023

Partner

United Kingdom

UCLPartners and UCL Health Alliance to join forces - UCLPartners

UCLPartners and UCL Health Alliance -- the provider collaborative for north central London -- are to come together to form a single health innovation partnership .

1

4/6/2023

Partner

United States

RespireRx and UCL partner to study AMPAkines for GRIA Disorder

RespireRx and UCL partner to study AMPAkines for GRIA

1

2/18/2023

Partner

United Kingdom

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10

1/26/2023

Partner

United Kingdom

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10

Date

6/26/2023

5/26/2023

4/6/2023

2/18/2023

1/26/2023

Type

Partner

Partner

Partner

Partner

Partner

Business Partner

Country

United States

United Kingdom

United States

United Kingdom

United Kingdom

News Snippet

AECOM and UCL sign partnership to transform the science in major programme management

`` The partnership between AECOM and University College London promises to transform sectors and communities through advancing the science of infrastructure projects , '' said Professor Christoph Linder , Dean , The Bartlett of the Built Environment .

UCLPartners and UCL Health Alliance to join forces - UCLPartners

UCLPartners and UCL Health Alliance -- the provider collaborative for north central London -- are to come together to form a single health innovation partnership .

RespireRx and UCL partner to study AMPAkines for GRIA Disorder

RespireRx and UCL partner to study AMPAkines for GRIA

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Sources

2

1

1

10

10

University College London Team

6 Team Members

University College London has 6 team members, including former President, Henry Neilson.

Name

Work History

Title

Status

Henry Neilson

President

Former

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Name

Henry Neilson

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Work History

Title

President

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Status

Former

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